It’s a Grumpy Nation Out There

It’s a grumpy nation. We probably all knew that, but Tuesday’s election results underscore the point.

It wasn’t a good election for Democrats, of course. They lost the two biggest races, the governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia, the first a blue state they should own and the second now a swing state Democrats liked to think they had turned in the last two elections.

But Democrats can argue they won in the race that is most relevant to what is going on in Washington, the special eleciton for the 23rd congressional district in New York. That represents a victory in a traditionally Republican district, and a sign that GOP conservatives probably overplayed their hand by forcing a liberal Republican out of the race.

The broader lesson in all this, however, may simply be the signs of grumpiness all around. In each case, independent voters appear to have swung against the party holding the seat. And in New York, a wildly over-funded and universally known incumbent mayor, Michael Bloomberg, barely won against a wildly under-funded and unknown Democratic challenger. In the midst of an economic mess, voters don’t seem to like over-spending and over-reach, but more than that they seem unhappy with the status quo in general.

“Change” was a good theme for Barack Obama in 2008. It still might best capture the mood of voters.